I Remember Nothing, But I Have Four Husbands

Ethan felt conflicted. On one hand, he was happy; as if he was inside a dream he did not want to wake up from. On the other hand, he did not want to cry out victory so soon.

It was not the first time he walked hand in hand with a woman down the market. Part of his happiness came from the notion that holding Isabelle's hand felt different. It was not due to the fact that they were holding the hands with which they touched each other, but because it was the first time a woman was willing to hold hands with him even after seeing his living conditions.

With his last partner, the one who rejected him just a few days ago, he had felt that he had finally gotten lucky. She was from a neighbor village, and the two met at town. She sold food by one of the town's exit, and he frequented the stall. His intention was never to court her, he only bought the food she made because it was cheap and tasty.

It had been her who started throwing coy glances at him, intentionally touching his hand when giving him the food and complimenting his good looks. At that moment, Ethan was focused on saving money as he and his brothers had arrived to the conclusion that they would have to share a Wife. He tried to ignore her, but his mind betrayed him with the usual:

'What if this is the one?'

So, they started knowing each other.

From the get go, he was honest with her. He wanted to do things right for once and not hide anything about his situation. It was all or nothing for him. He told her about his brothers and that he was going through economic problems - not keen on telling her he was poor.

And, she told him she was also the eldest sibling, plus being the supporting pillar of her sickly parents and younger brothers. So, both understood hardships and were willing to face them.

She had a dream of wanting to own an eatery and he had promised he would support her no matter what. She never said anything bad about his random jobs and was even moved whenever he managed to gift her things despite his situation. Then, it implicitely turned into a rather serious commitment when they started having sex.

Although they never talked about having kids, they naturally and tacitly knew that children would arrive once they got married. Because of all that, Ethan took the step to present her to his brothers; after a couple of months courting of course.

How did it all crumbled after that one visit to his house? Ethan was sure it was not his sexual performance; she more than once praised him after the deed. The gifts she gave her were on the cheap side, yes, but she always beamed at him whenever she got one. Furthermore, she never complained about not being able to go out that much as both were busy.

Was it that, then?

Feelings?

Truthfully, he had not put all his feelings into the relationship. She constantly told him she loved him, and he did, too. But he knew well those were empty words to make her stay. He had promised himself he would pour more love on her after getting married, yet their relationship failed to reach that stage. He was, of course, upset of the outcome; upset of the fact that he was the problem.

But, how could he rectify that part of himself when all his expectations and hopes were crushed after every rejection? When no one gave him the chance to change?

So, the reason he was still hesitant with Isabelle was because he feared things would be the same no matter how much effort he put into their relationship.

He wanted to continue living the dream; of having no traces of uncertainty for the future with her, of having no fear that she would one day disappear from their lives. The dream of finally signing the papers and cherish each other for the rest of their lives – though he was aware that he would have to work on their relationship. He dreamed of finally putting down that boulder in his heart.

It was a very sweet dream.

And he could do nothing but go down the rabbit hole yet again. 

Looking at her, who was glancing here and there around the market, made a gentle smile unconsciously appear on his face. Then, his eyes moved to her jiggling round butt, and he gulped to moisten his suddenly dry throat. After finally pawing her - not as a patient when he cleaned her in those days that she remained unconscious but as a woman -, his mind once again treacherously told him: 'this is the one'.

To align himself with what his mind was telling him, he promised that he would thread his relationship with Isabelle without the expectation of an incoming failure, like he did with all his previous relationships. No more sabotaging himself!

He also promised himself that he would treat Isabelle as if she was a goddess in those children stories he sometimes heard from passing kids. He was going to devote himself to her, pour his unending love, his fears, his dreams, his care and his desires on her.

Because the thought of tainting a goddess with mortal debauchery was very appealing to him.

Seeing her countenance, he thought it would not be a difficult task.

Isabelle was a beautiful woman who could awaken his desires at a mere glance. Then, after knowing more about her, he was hooked by her personality, her openness and brightness. Of course, she also awoke ugly feelings inside Ethan. Like jealousy and pettiness. It was the possessiveness in him.

He had been jealous of what had happened between her and Lucas in the mountains. Having heard from Joseph and Ethan about the charms of a woman, Lucas seemed to be the first to be hit hard by Isabelle's charms, the first to become her devotee, the first to make his advance.

Ethan could only let his jealousy go due to gratitude. He was gratified that the very first and only woman Lucas had fallen for was willing to spend the rest of her life with them. She was even planning to improve their lifestyle for the sake of their future together! If she was not a goddess, she was an angel. So, his quiet brother did not have to taste the bitterness of frivolous relationships.

After putting down his jealousy, his pettiness reared its head when Joseph mentioned the previous night, as they were washing, that Lucas was right in claiming that Isabelle was soft and fragrant. It was unfair that Joseph, of all people, was able to paw Isabelle before him!

Joseph's previous relationships were mostly flings with loose women that hid the fact they were married until the husbands discovered the affair.

Ethan had always scolded his younger brother for constantly getting involved in such scandalous affairs; even if Joseph came out unscathed from them with just a fight with the husbands after declaring the woman was the one who sought him. Of course, the reputation of those wives supported his claims most of the time. That was why those street fights never escalated.

And that was when Joseph was barely sixteen!

Thankfully, he smartened up after a couple of fights. He stopped paying attention to the women who searched for him only to shag and started some serious relationships. Even so, his relationships were doomed to fail much like Ethan's after the women were brought to the house and they realized what their future awaited if they stayed with him.

The point was that Ethan knew Joseph was a libidinous man – product of those needy wives that sought him in his youth – and feared that he would treat Isabelle the same way he treated those wives.

And, as they talked about how to address with Isabelle the matter of her becoming the Wife of the four brothers, Joseph claimed he could do the talking. Ethan had fiercely refused and said it would be better to let Lucas be the one to start smoothing the path. Though, that had been his pettiness not allowing Joseph to spend more time alone with Isabelle.

However, letting Lucas do the talking also proved to be a mistake from Ethan's part.

When he went out to look for Lucas and Isabelle after a long time had passed and they had not returned from what he deemed to be a simple bathtub cleaning, he found his quiet brother snogging Isabelle and pressing her against a wall with his pants down, short from having sex with her if the muted sounds were anything to go by.

The scene lit a fire in Ethan's lower abdomen, but he calmed himself down and just went back into the house to wait for them to be done. He was many things, but a voyeur was not one. Besides, he thought Lucas needed to try the marvels of a woman alone. After all, some things were best to be experienced with just him and Isabelle. Ethan also forbade Joseph from going out after the latter deduced something was up.

Though, contrary to Ethan's expectation, after Isabelle returned from her sweet moment with Lucas, she was not uncomfortable with, nor did she shy away from him.

That meant that whatever Lucas said to her was enough to convince her, at least, that they were all interested in her.

After everything that happened last night, plus adding Ethan's own recent experience with her confirmed the fact that she was indeed willing to accept them all. Yet his fears still marred the small victory of finally having scored a Wife.

"What?! You are telling me the bag of seeds costs 5 coins while the sapling is 10 coins?" Isabelle cried out in surprise halting Ethan's musings.

She had been looking at a stall that sold all sorts of seeds and saplings, something they were tasked to check out by Joseph. And seeing the rice saplings, she asked about them, but the attendant's words obviously shocked her.

"The sapling's guaranteed to grow, contrary to the seeds." The attendant calmly explained. It was not wrong, yet not completely true. Ethan would know from the many times Joseph went into a fit of rage whenever a new sapling died in their patch. Even after being assured that the sapling could grow in any soil. "We can give you a discount if you buy in bulk, 12 saplings for 1 bill." The attendant tried to hook.

"Are they really guaranteed to grow? What is the rate of success between the sapling and the seeds? Are you also providing the planting method and the care? Can I plant them in any type of soil?" Isabelle quickly asked. Ethan was surprised by her fierce way of buying. Sure enough, her questions stumped the attendant for a second. She changed her tune after noticing the man's hesitation. "Forget about that, do you have herb saplings?" 

"Basil, rosemary, mint, oregano, parsley, cilantro, and we have a new type called celery. All of them are 5 dimes each, except for the celery that costs 10 dimes, 1 coin." Ethan sharply inhaled at the prices listed.

He felt blessed being paid 10 dimes for a day's work. But here a sapling was, costing the labor of a day.

He coldly sweated when he saw Isabelle nodding. Was she planning to buy? He felt his heart and pocket hurt to know the 12 dimes he had saved from the past four days of work would fly out just like that. But he decided to grit his teeth and take them out if Isabelle asked for the money. They could only afford one or two saplings though.

"By any chance, do you know which ones are easy to dry?" Isabelle asked, making Ethan silently let out a relieved sigh.

The attendant was stumped again. He was only selling plants, what did he know about planting, growing, and drying?! Although it was unprofessional of him not to know, it was worse for the owner to hire such a person.

"Well, then, thank you for your help." She smiled and continued walking.

Ethan thought she would give up, but he saw her talk with the owner of another stall that also sold seeds and saplings. They were cheaper, and Ethan was tempted to buy a few, yet Isabelle only thanked the owner and moved on. Walking around other stalls that sold the same, she asked the very same questions: if saplings were guaranteed to grow, the care and which herbs could be dried.

Ethan was one to buy at the stall that sold the cheapest and leave it like that. His situation at home only allowed him to do it that anyway. Where would he go asking around? Or more like, what was the point in asking the same questions at every stall they went to? He was sure not even Joseph did that, having the same method as the eldest brother.

So, there Ethan was, confused by Isabelle's actions. After she once again walked away from a stall, he got closer to her and lowly asked, "What're ya doin'?"

"Comparing." She simply replied, as if it was obvious.

"What for?" He persevered, still befuddled.

"Do not get carried away by cheap things. Most of those have problems; that is why they are sold at a low price. Generally, saplings that are pricier are the best in quality and the most likely to succeed in growing. But, neither the attendants, nor the owners, provide for discount or further assistance; like how to care for them and if they are prone to insects. They just want the money. Those stalls that have affordable prices just want to pull the costumers from those more expensive stalls, and know nothing about planting and growing. What we are looking for is a stall that can provide us with seeds, saplings, and further information regarding the care." Isabelle explained.

Ethan felt he had been living his whole life wrong.

How would he know about the nuances in the prices, if the owner or attendant knew what they were selling, or if the products were good? Though, it seemed being aware of all that was indispensable when buying. So, according to Isabelle, the best would be to find affordable prices on nice products with the chance to be taught about what they were buying.

Was there a stall doing business like that in the whole market?

Hold it… "How d'ya know all that?"

Isabelle glanced at him, paying more attention to the several stalls around. After a while, she was able to identify which stalls sold cheap and which ones sold expensive saplings. So, she steered away from those and moved onto the ones that were in between the range of prices. "Joseph told me."

"He what…?" Ethan asked, completely befuddled.

"He said you were unreliable when buying saplings, so he told me all the necessary information to buy good seeds and saplings." Isabelle relayed.

Of course, Joseph had been cruder in his delivery, something along the lines of Ethan being 'a useless prick that couldn't buy shit even if it poked 'im in the fuckin' eye'. Obviously, Isabelle would not repeat that.

She did not need to.

Ethan knew his younger brother very well, so he could imagine what he had said about him; which obviously angered him. Joseph definitely had said that in revenge for not giving him more alone time with Isabelle! Before he could explain himself to Isabelle, that he was not unreliable or stupid, someone spoke up.

"Young lady, would you like to buy aromatic oils?"